Al-Qaida behind Uzbek attacks, says anti-terror official

Violent attacks in Uzbekistan were connected to the al-Qaida terror group, a top anti-terror official said today – the first time the Uzbek government has directly linked the attacks to the terror network headed by Osama bin Laden.

“These are Wahhabis who belong to one of the branches of the international al-Qaida terror group,” said Ilya Pyagay, Interior Ministry deputy anti-terrorism chief, referring to the strict strain of Islam in which bin Laden was raised.

“These are bandits who planned these attacks long in advance”

He said operations were continuing to capture and uncover alleged terrorists.

At least 43 people have died in a series of explosions, suicide bombings and police shootouts starting on Sunday that Prosecutor-General spokeswoman Svetlana Artikova said were “all part of one chain.”

Pyagay said officials were trying to determine if the 20 alleged terrorists they said died in a stand-off on Tuesday were Uzbek citizens or not. He said many had been carrying false passports.

Uzbek officials initially pointed to the extremist Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has been firmly suppressed in the country. But the group denied involvement and it has no known links to terrorist violence.